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Magnificently set in a fold of the hills that rise from
the Jordan Valley 78 km north of Amman, Pella, known in
Arabic as Tabaqat Fahl, is one of the most ancient sites
in Jordan and a favorite of archaeologists being
exceptionally rich in antiquities. It is perfectly
situated, for there is a spring here which issues into a
small river and never runs dry.
Early Christians found refuge here from turmoil and
Roman conquest in Jerusalem after 70 AD, and it's
perhaps the site of Pennuel, where Jacob wrestled with
the angel all night.
Like many of the ancient cities of Jordan, Pella came
successively under the rule of the Ptolemies and the
Seleucids. Disaster struck in 83 BCE, however, when the
Hasmonean leader of Judea, Alexander Jannaeus, largely
destroyed the city when its inhabitants refused to
embrace Judaism.
 Pella was one of several Hellenistic communities on the
east bank of the Jordan River that was targeted by
Jannaeus.
The Byzantine era saw a revitalization of Pella, as
trade routes strengthened and local industries
developed.
After the 7th century Arab conquest, Pella continued as
an Umayyad city for just over 100 years, and some superb
pottery remains have been found here, made in the Jerash
 kilns. But like so many places in Jordan, the city was
destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 747 AD. The site
continued to be occupied during the Abbasid and Mamluk
periods, but it was now a much smaller and more rural
community. There was still a mud-brick village on the
tell until 1970, but it was bombed in an Israeli strike
across the border. |
